And now a gallery of dandelion bugs if you needed any more convincing. First bees, and not only honeybees...
... but many species of bumblebees and solitary bees...
and this Buff tailed bumblebee queen Bombus terrestris
A poor photo showing two bee species, the cleptoparasite Melecta albifrons and an early bumblebee queen Bombus pratorum.
Other early spring solitary bees can often be seen having a dandelion pollen bath
An unidentified solitary bee
A couple of Red Mason Bees.
And butterflies too...
A long distance shot of a Brimstone,
a Green-Veined White,
And Small Tortoiseshells too.
And last, but not least, many hoverflies use dandelions too
The narcissus fly, Merodon equestris, mating
Episyrphus balteatus often meet on dandelion flower heads
Two hoverfly species, a Helophilus pendulus and a Sphaerophoria sp.
I am sure I have missed many more. But not only insects, but also goldfinches enjoy dandelions. Here one feeding on white seeds on my doorstep.
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